Radio communication devices use antennas to provide efficient transmission of radio frequency communication signals. The transmission portion of a communication device includes a power amplifier for amplifying the radio frequency signals before they are coupled to the antenna for transmission. The power amplifier design often relies on constant load impedance which is directed at maximizing gain, efficiency, power output level, and the like. The behavior of a transmitter may be affected by its operating environment. For example, a transmitter operating near an electromagnetically reflective structure may be susceptible to energy reflected back through the antenna into the transmitter. Reflective energy may be detrimental to transmitter performance, particularly to the performance of the power amplifier. An isolator or circulator is often inserted between the antenna and the power amplifier to protect against changes in load impedance as a result of reflected energy.
The isolator protects the power amplifier by absorbing the reflected energy and preventing it from reaching the amplifier. The isolator directs the reflected energy to an absorptive load termination. An isolator typically adds significant cost, size and weight to the design of a radio communication device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,087 to Cygan et al., entitled “Method and apparatus for a linear transmitter” discloses another solution to the problem of reflected energy. The solution incorporates a directional coupler to detect the reflected energy and provides a means of adjusting the gain of the power amplifier accordingly. Generally, the gain to the power amplifier is reduced when high levels of reflected energy are present. In this approach, the circuitry for detection of the reflected energy must operate at the transmission frequency. This adds significant cost and complexity to the radio design.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,286 to Baker et al., entitled “Method and apparatus for an improved linear transmission”, is directed to a method and apparatus for isolator elimination, operative at the baseband frequencies, which is described in detail, herein below. Reference is made to FIG. 1, which is a schematic illustration of a linear transmitter block of a radio communication device, generally referenced 50, which is known in the art. Transmitter block 50 includes an attenuator 52, three summators 54, 66 and 70, a baseband loop filter unit 56, an up-mixer and radio-frequency (RF) filter unit 58, an RF power amplifier 60, a down-mixer and baseband filter unit 64, a phase shifter unit 62, an AGC 68, an adaptor unit 72 and an antenna 74. Summator 54 is connected to attenuator 52, to baseband filter unit 56 and to phase shifter unit 62. Summator 66 is connected to baseband filter unit 56, to up-mixer and RF filter unit 58, to adaptor unit 72 and to AGC 68. Summator 70 is connected to AGC 68, to attenuator 52 and to adaptor unit 72. Adaptor 72 is further connected to AGC 68, to attenuator 52 and to phase shifter unit 62. Up-mixer and RF filter unit 58 is connected to baseband loop filter unit 56 and to power amplifier 60. Down-mixer and baseband filter unit 64 is further connected to power amplifier 60 and to phase shifter unit 62. Antenna 74 is connected to power amplifier 60 and to down-mixer and baseband filter unit 64.
A signal 80 is provided as input to amplifier feedback loop 78 and to isolator elimination circuit 76. Amplifier feedback loop 78 and isolator elimination circuit 76 represent the main amplification lop and the auxiliary loop, respectively. Amplifier feedback loop 78 is a closed loop amplifier structure. Typically, this structure can be considered a Cartesian feedback loop amplifier. The input signal 80 is generally a complex digital baseband signal, having quadrature components, i.e. in-phase (I) component and quadrature (Q) component. Signal 80 is provided to attenuator 52. Attenuator 52 provides an attenuated signal to summator 54. Summator 54 combines this signal with a feedback loop output signal 82 and provides a resulting error signal to baseband filter unit 56. Baseband filter unit 56 provides the filtered error signal to up-mixer and RF filter unit 58. Up-mixer and RF filter unit 58 up-converts the signal to RF and provides it to power amplifier 60. Power amplifier 60 amplifies the signal and provides the amplified signal to antenna 74 for transmission. Antenna 74 forms a load for power amplifier 60. It is noted that this load is susceptible to impedance variations due to its operating environment. Power amplifier 60 provides a portion of the output signal to summator 54, via down-mixer and baseband circuit 64 and phase shifter unit 62, thereby generating feedback loop output signal 82. Feedback loop output signal 82 constitutes a feedback signal for controlling the gain of power amplifier 60 and maintaining transmitter block 50 in the linear mode of operation.
Baseband filter unit 56 also provides a filtered error signal 90 to summator 66. Summator 66 combines error signal 90 with signal 84 from adaptor 72 and provides the result to AGC 68. AGC 68 constitutes a linear gain control circuit of isolator elimination circuit 76. Adaptor 72 controls the gain of AGC 68 by altering the output signal of AGC 68. AGC 68 provides the output signal to summator 70, where it is combined with input signal 80. Summator 70 provides the resulting error signal 94 to adaptor 72, which produces two output control signals 86 and 88. Control signal 86 adjusts the gain of attenuator 52, and control signal 88 adjusts phase shifter 62. Adaptor 72 produces control signals 84, 86 and 88 based on input signal 80 and error signal 94.
To avoid the undesirable effects, it is necessary to design a transmitter with sufficient gain and/or power reserve. Such a design will result in increased complexity, cost, power consumption and more. There is a trade-off between the desired design simplicity and cost-effectiveness on one hand, and necessary dynamic range of system gain and/or output power, on the other hand. It is desirable to provide a linear transmitter, which is cost-effective and simple, yet assuring linear performance and high signal-to-noise ratio.